Lorena and Natalie Aviles: Texas shooting victims' family pays touching tribute to mother and daughter
MCGREGOR, TEXAS: Nicolas Hernandez-Jaimes fatally shot five people, including Lorena "Lori" Aviles, and her daughter, Natalie. The other victims include Monica Delgado, 38, Miguel Avila, 15, and Natalie Avila, 14, as per the Texas Ranger at around 8 am on Thursday, September 29. Hernandez-Jaimes was reportedly shot by the McGregor police before he was taken into custody and then to the hospital. Now, the families of the victims have paid their tributes and revealed heartwrenching details about the victims.
Lori's sister-in-law Renee Flores told The US Sun that the night before the shooting, the entire family was celebrating a birthday with music, dancing, games, and stories. During her interview with the outlet, Flores said, "The world needs to know that this guy took away two beautiful souls. They were two beautiful people taken away too soon. They loved God, and they were so strong." Lori lost her husband, Mike Aviles, two years ago to cancer. Flores revealed that Natalie was a 20-year-old back-to-back "Miss McGregor" pageant winner all the while preparing to be a doctor. Flores explained, "Natalie was known for her banana bread, and she used it as a fundraiser to raise money to give to a family who lost their sole (financial) provider. Natalie had such big dreams." The inmate records explain that the shooter was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
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Flores reflected on Lori's service to the community as she was an associate pastor at their church. She explained how Lori went back to school to get a better job to provide for her family saying, "Everything goes back to giving, and they're not rich. They just always wanted to give. When my brother was fighting cancer, we leaned on the American Cancer Association because they didn't have health insurance. After my brother passed, that motivated Natalie to become a board member for the cancer association. They raised money to give back to the American Cancer Association so the organization can help another family."
MEAWW previously reported the statement of Lori’s brother Leon Olvera on Facebook, "A coward with a gun took my sister and beautiful niece’s lives just for being outside of their own home. This feels like a bad dream but our family is strong and we will remain strong for you sis. I’m just broken right now because I’ll never see you guys beautiful smiles again." McGregor ISD Superintendent James Lenamon said in a message as reported by The Sun, "Rumors abound about what appears to be a horrific tragedy in our community. There was a domestic disturbance that resulted in a shooting in McGregor this morning. As a result of that shooting, MISD 'locked down' for about 15 minutes. Once we received an all-clear from MPD, the lockdown was lifted."